General Editor: Daniel R. Schwarz
The aim of this series is to provide substantive critical introductions to Reading Novels in the British, Irish, American, and European traditions
Published
| Reading the Nineteenth-Century Novel | Harry E. Shaw and Alison Case |
| Reading the Modern British and Irish Novel 1890–1930 | Daniel R. Schwarz |
| Reading the Novel in English 1950–2000 | Brian W. Shaffer |
| Reading the American Novel 1865–1914 | G. R. Thompson |
| Reading the American Novel 1780–1865 | Shirley Samuels |
| Reading the American Novel 1910–2010 | James Phelan |
| Reading the Contemporary Irish Novel 1987–2007 | Liam Harte |
| Reading the European Novel to 1900 | Daniel R. Schwarz |
| Reading the Eighteenth-Century Novel | David H. Richter |
This edition first published 2017
© 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by law. Advice on how to obtain permission to reuse material from this title is available at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
The right of David H. Richter to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with law.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Name: Richter, David H., 1945– author.
Title: Reading the eighteenth-century novel / David H. Richter.
Description: First edition. | Hoboken : John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2017. | Series: Reading the novel |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016053412 (print) | LCCN 2017000756 (ebook) | ISBN 9781118621141
(hardback) | ISBN 9781118621103 (paper) | ISBN 9781118621134 (pdf) |
ISBN 9781118621110 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: English fiction–18th century–History and criticism. | Books and reading–
Great Britain–History–18th century. | BISAC: LITERARY CRITICISM / General.
Classification: LCC PR851 .R53 2017 (print) | LCC PR851 (ebook) | DDC 823/.509–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016053412
Cover design: Wiley
Cover image: Vauxhall Gardens, by Thomas Rowlandson. London, England, 1784 © V&A Images/Alamy Stock Photo
To Chris Fanning, Harry Heuser, Matt Williams, Will Hatheway, Carrie Shanafelt, Janne Gillespie, Shang-yu Sheng, and Eugene Slepov, my students at the CUNY Graduate Center from whom I have learned so much.
Although the title page might suggest a solo performance, Reading the Eighteenth‐Century Novel could not have come into existence without the assistance of a team of generous and skillful colleagues and friends in the worlds of academia and publishing. Let me start out with the general editor of the Reading the Novel series, Professor Daniel Schwarz of Cornell, who asked me to undertake a once‐orphaned project. I had help with the prospectus and with chapter design from professors Alison Case of Williams College and James Phelan of Ohio State, authors of other volumes in the series. Dr. Stephen Gregg of Bath Spa University and Professor Robert DeMaria of Vassar College reviewed the manuscript at various stages in its development; their hints and suggestions were always on target, but any errors of fact or emphasis are my own. At Wiley‐Blackwell, I worked first with Emma Bennett, who signed the book, then with Deirdre Ilkson, Emily Corkhill, and Bridget Jennings, and finally with Rebecca Harkin, under whose watchful editorial eye the book was completed. The attractive object you are holding was created by Manish Luthra and Sakthivel Kandaswamy, in charge of production for Wiley‐Blackwell. Doreen Kruger was my savvy and energetic copy editor, who never asked me a question when she could look it up herself. Research was carried out at the British Library, the Mina Rees Library at the CUNY Graduate Center, the Rosenthal Library of Queens College. I finished the book with the aid of a Fellowship Leave from my department at Queens College. Finally, I would like to dedicate this book to the wonderful students who over two decades have taken my course in the origin and development of the English novel at the CUNY Graduate Center. Among these I would like to single out Christopher Fanning, Harry Heuser, Matt Williams, Will Hatheway, Carrie Shanafelt, Janne Gillespie, Shang‐yu Sheng, and Eugene Slepov: I have learned so much from you and hope to continue doing so, wherever you may go.